Over the course of the last three weeks, three of our alumni have been competing in the 12th Annual NYC Teen Poetry Slam preliminaries and semi-finals, hosted by UrbanWord NYC. Jesica Blandon, Denisse Cotto and Vaughn Kelly all competed once again this past weekend, at The Point here in the Bronx, and at the Nuyorican Poet’s Cafe located on the lower east side of Manhattan. Through fierce competition and awesome displays of verbal gymnastics, both Denisse and Jesica qualified for the Grand Slam Final to be held on Saturday, March 27th 2010. Unfortunately the prospect of having three of our former Middle School slam team poets gracing the Final’s stage was cut one-third short as Vaughn narrowly missed the cut. I’ve attached video taken at Vaughn’s and Denisse’s semi-finals at the Nuyorican. Please enjoy and feel free to comment, they read what you have to say!

MS 145 would like to thank the hundreds of parents, guardians and friends who joined our educators in braving the elements today and came to the daytime session of Parent/Teacher Conferences. Due to the inclement weather, a recorded notice was sent to the emergency contact number we have on file indicating that the Chancellor had postponed the afternoon sessions citywide. Keep checking this site, check the NYCDOE website, register for Notify NYC and pay close attention for any postings sent home indicating the rescheduled date and time. Thank you, and stay warm.

Recent graduates Jesica Blandon and Vaughn Kelly are participating in the 2010 Knicks Poetry Slam competition. These are video clips of Jesica’s and Vaughn’s performances during the semifinals held at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe, located on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Stay tuned for more info since Jesica has qualified for the finals, and Vaughn is currently a “Digital Poet.” In order to vote for Vaughn’s video (or any other poets you prefer…) please log onto www.knickspoetryslam.com and cast your vote! Help these poets to claim one of two remaining spots for the finals!

Kia Vaughn, MS145 alumnus and New York Liberty basketball star recently visited her middle school alma mater to give the Liberty fans a glimpse into her world.